CVE-2022-28247
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAcrobat Reader DC version 22.001.2011x (and earlier), 20.005.3033x (and earlier) and 17.012.3022x (and earlier) are affected by an uncontrolled search path vulnerability that could lead to local privilege escalation. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must run the uninstaller with Admin privileges.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe Adobe Acrobat Reader DC uninstaller contains an uncontrolled search path vulnerability that allows the application to load DLLs or executables from attacker-controlled locations. When run with administrative privileges, a local attacker could place a malicious DLL in a search path location that gets loaded by the uninstaller, resulting in privilege escalation to the admin level.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.001.20085>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.001.20085>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30205>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30314>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30311>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30205>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30314>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30311CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader versionOpen Windows Registry and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{Adobe Product ID}, or check the version via the Help > About menu in the application. Adobe products typically store version in the 'DisplayVersion' registry value under their respective uninstall keys.Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085; 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205; 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314 or 20.005.30311.
-
Locate the Adobe uninstaller executableSearch for the uninstaller in typical Adobe installation directories, commonly found in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\. The uninstaller is typically named 'Uninstall.exe' or 'Setup.exe' within an 'Acrobat' or 'Reader' subfolder.Affected if The uninstaller exists on the system at any Adobe installation path.
-
Verify the uninstaller uses an uncontrolled search pathInspect the uninstaller binary or its configuration for DLL search path behavior. On Windows, this can be observed by running the uninstaller and monitoring which directories it attempts to load DLLs from using process monitoring tools like Process Monitor, or by checking if the uninstaller launches from a user-writable directory.Affected if The uninstaller loads DLLs from directories that are writable by non-privileged users, allowing DLL planting.
-
Confirm uninstaller execution contextDetermine if the uninstaller has been or could be run with administrative privileges. Check if users have the ability to place files in directories that appear earlier in the DLL search order than the application's install directory.Affected if The system allows non-administrative users to write to directories in the DLL search path that the uninstaller traverses when run with elevated privileges.
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed with a version number within the vulnerable ranges AND the uninstaller executable exists on the system in a location where an attacker could place a malicious DLL in a search path directory.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedApply the vendor security update from Adobe to the affected versions (22.001.2012+, 20.005.3034+, 17.012.3023+). Until patched, avoid running the uninstaller with elevated privileges or ensure the uninstaller is launched from a controlled directory.
Acrobat DC/Reader DC: upgrade to version 22.001.2012 or later (2022 release track); For 20.x branch: upgrade to 20.005.3034 or later; For 17.x branch: upgrade to 17.012.3023 or later
- 1. Verify the current Adobe Acrobat/Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
- 2. Close all Adobe applications completely before updating
- 3. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader from the official Adobe website (get.adobe.com/reader for Reader, or adobe.com for Acrobat)
- 4. Run the installer with appropriate admin privileges
- 5. Alternatively, use Adobe's auto-update feature: Open the application, go to Help > Check for Updates
- 6. Verify the installation completed successfully and note the new version number
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-28247 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-28247 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data